head to head · open source
Vector vs metrics
Vector has 22,793 GitHub stars, 2,371 forks, 2,512 open issues and last shipped yesterday. metrics has 17,363 stars, 2,303 forks, 68 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. Vector leads on adoption by 31% (22,793 vs 17,363 stars). Vector is written in Rust under MPL-2.0; metrics is written in JavaScript under MIT. Vector has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, metrics 13%. Vector was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (metrics), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Vector | metrics | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 23K | ★ 17K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Rust | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-05-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 2.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Vector if
- You weight community size — 23K stars and counting
- You want the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick metrics if
- You want the metrics feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and metrics fits your workflow better
About Vector
Quickstart • Docs • Guides • Integrations • Chat • Download • Container Images • Rust Crate Docs What is Vector? Vector is a high performance, end to end (agent & aggregator) observability data pipeline that puts you in control of your observability data. [Collect][docs.sources], [transform][docs.transforms], and [route][docs.sinks] all your logs and metrics to any vendors you want today and any other vendors you may want tomorrow. Vector enables dramatic cost reduction, novel data enrichment, and data security where you need it, not where it is most convenient for your…
read the full Vector overview →
About metrics
📊 Metrics Generate metrics that can be embedded everywhere, including your GitHub profile readme! Supports users, organizations, and even repositories! For user accounts For organization accounts 🧩 Customizable with 47 plugins and 335 options! 📅 Isometric commit calendar 🈷️ Languages activity Full year calendar Half year calendar Indepth analysis (clone and analyze repositories) Recently used (analyze recent activity events) Default algorithm Default algorithm (with details) ✨ Stargazers 👨💻 Lines of code changed Classic charts Graph charts Worldmap Repositories and diff history Compact display in base…
read the full metrics overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Vector or metrics more popular?
Vector has 22,793 GitHub stars and metrics has 17,363. Vector has the larger community by that measure.
Are Vector and metrics free?
Both are open source. Vector is licensed under MPL-2.0 and metrics under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Vector and metrics?
Vector is written in Rust and metrics in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Vector or metrics?
Choose Vector if you want the larger community (22,793 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose metrics if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.